Yeah, the TV show is not great...but this is hardly surprising as TV and Movies so very rarely translate well from their original source material.
Yes and no. They are so rarely
translated well from the source material. The fault is not in the material, but in the translator. There are obviously some changes you have to make when going from a written medium to a visual/auditory medium, but not as many as you'd think. The problem is almost always that the people who should be making those little tweaks take that as a license to shift character names, motivations, genders, locations, etc. etc. around until you're left with nothing but the title. It's obvious when something is being adapted by someone who doesn't really comprehend the source material. The best modern example of it being done right would be the LotR movies, but even they had some teeth-gnashing flaws. (Frodo telling Sam to 'go home' on the path up to Cirith Ungol? Really? Even if he had the best reasons in the world to do it, and not just the say-so of an obviously twisted little monster, sending anyone off on their own in that land is equivalent to saying 'go die'. Ugh, that scene was the stupidest thing ever, added nothing to the plot, and was clearly added in a fit of incredible idiocy. But I digress!)
Anyway, I'm quite excited for the new book as well. I too have been following the story via the audiobooks, because they are quite well done. I'm quite glad Marsters is coming back, as the last book just felt completely wrong with a different voice. Even if the performance was adequate, it would never have been right no matter how well the stand-in voice actor did. I wish they would have Marsters go back and re-record that one as well.
